tumble

Noun

• a sudden drop from an upright position
  • he had a nasty spill on the ice
    

• an acrobatic feat of rolling or turning end over end

Verb

• do gymnastics, roll and turn skillfully

• suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat

• put clothes in a tumbling barrel, where they are whirled about in hot air, usually with the purpose of drying
  • Wash in warm water and tumble dry
    

• fall suddenly and sharply
  • Prices tumbled after the devaluation of the currency
    

• understand, usually after some initial difficulty
  • She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on
    

• throw together in a confused mass
  • They tumbled the teams with no apparent pattern
    

• fall apart
  • the building crumbled after the explosion
    
  • Negotiations broke down
    

• fly around
  • The clothes tumbled in the dryer
    
  • rising smoke whirled in the air
    

• roll over and over, back and forth

• cause to topple or tumble by pushing

• fall down, as if collapsing
  • The tower of the World Trade Center tumbled after the plane hit it
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  spill , fall , catch on , get wise , get onto , latch on , cotton on , twig , get it , crumble , crumple , break down , collapse , whirl , whirl around , topple , tip